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Graduate Program

The goal of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology is to produce the next generation of highly trained, independent thinking scientists. We are very excited about our Ph.D. program and confident that the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology can offer you the education and graduate research experience that you will need to achieve your career goals. We invite you to explore this web site and learn about our department.

A description of the courses offered by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology can be found in this web site. Typically, BMB students complete their required and elective course work by the end of their second year. During the summer term of the second year you will take the qualifying examination. Following the successful completion of this two-part examination you are granted candidate status and are able to pursue your research full time. Most students complete and defend their thesis by the end of their fifth year. As a measure of the research accomplishments of our graduate students, many are offered postdoctoral fellowships at some of the most prestigious institutions in the US, including Harvard, Stanford, Rockefeller, Duke, UCSF and Scripps Research Institute.